The person behind him pressed down on his shoulder and said, "Wu Xingxue..."

That voice was very low, resounding right by his ear. It was clearly a warning, yet it carried a faint, almost imperceptible hint of helplessness.

Wu Xingxue turned his head and saw Xiao Fuxuan's sharp eyes and brows soften slightly as he lowered his head. He suddenly felt that it was a good thing this High Immortal Tianxiu didn't often visit the Mortal Realm. Otherwise, with that face alone, even if he didn't like to talk, he could still deceive countless young women.

A thought suddenly struck him, and he asked, "Did I say something wrong?"

Xiao Fuxuan lifted his eyelids slightly.

Wu Xingxue added, "This body of mine is an Evil Demon to begin with. In the Hua Family, it could attract those things to make a pilgrimage. I was thinking, it shouldn't be that easy to possess, right? After all, it's the shell of a Great Demon Lord. As for that Dreamless Pill, it wasn't easy to come by. It's best to save one if we can. What do you think, High Immortal?"

"..."

The High Immortal didn't seem to think much of it.

Xiao Fuxuan glanced at his lips, which were opening and closing, then averted his gaze and straightened up, presumably having nothing to say.

But then Wu Xingxue added in a low voice, "Also, you scared the little disciple."

Xiao Fuxuan: "?"

It was hard to describe High Immortal Tianxiu's expression upon hearing this nonsense, but in any case, Wu Xingxue laughed...

But the young disciple of the Immortal Sect was about to go mad.

The simple phrase "Because I already am one" had still left him some room for doubt. But Xiao Fuxuan's "Wu Xingxue" directly sent him over the edge.

When the young disciple heard those three words, he felt his scalp explode, as if he were struck by five thunderbolts, his soul flying out of his body.

Fortunately, there was also Yi Wusheng nearby, who couldn't bear to watch any longer.

Ever since Xiao Fuxuan had held a sword to him and told him to "swallow it back down," the physician had practiced a well-rehearsed speech. He usually reminded himself of it in his heart, and now was the perfect time to use it to comfort someone else.

He steadied the young disciple and recounted the whole tall tale of "how the Great Demon Lord suffered damage in the Canglang Northern Domain and was possessed by some innocent living soul."

The young disciple was half-believing, half-doubting.

He was just about to ask how someone like Wu Xingxue could be possessed by a mere mortal when he heard a cracking sound.

The sound echoed through the long valley, startling everyone into looking over.

They saw the silent Immortal-Deposing Terrace suddenly become covered in cracks, as if the thing suppressed beneath it had been gathering strength for a long time and had finally unleashed a heavy blow.

Black evil qi seeped out from the cracks. A few young disciples from the Immortal Sects shuddered violently, goosebumps uncontrollably rising all over their bodies.

On the ground, Gao Er and the others trembled, their shattered bones making cracking sounds as they shook.

The round chamber instantly grew cold, and everyone felt as if they had been plunged into an ice cellar.

"The formation? Why does the formation seem to have... stopped?" a young disciple murmured, instinctively looking at the thirty-three divine statues.

Only now did he realize that the round chamber had fallen silent at some unknown point. The faint, repeated cries of "My disciple, Yun Hai" from Immortal Leader Mingwu, Hua Xin had disappeared.

The constantly stacking layers of pressure from just now seemed to have exhausted the last bit of immortal power in this great formation.

The light of the great formation on the ground slowly dimmed, and the flowing, intersecting formation patterns vanished.

Then, cracking sounds rang out one after another.

The young disciples looked sharply at the Immortal-Deposing Terrace, thinking it was the first to shatter.

Immediately after, they realized the sound was not coming from the Immortal-Deposing Terrace, but... the divine statues.

Everyone followed the sound with their eyes and saw huge cracks beginning to appear on the towering divine statues.

Wu Xingxue swept a quick glance and discovered that all the cracks started from the Offering Seal on the niches and spread rapidly upwards to the top of the statues' heads.

Boom—

The first divine statue cracked and collapsed.

Boom—

The second.

Then the third, the fourth, the fifth...

The collapse of just one such tall divine statue would cause the earth to shake and the mountains to tremble, let alone so many.

For a moment, the round chamber was filled with dust and smoke, and rubble flew everywhere. If not for the protection of Xiao Fuxuan's sword mirage, everyone would have likely been buried alive by the debris.

In the blink of an eye, almost all of the thirty-three divine statues had collapsed.

Wu Xingxue looked through the dust and saw that only four divine statues were still standing. Those four were also covered in cracks, barely holding together.

"Not one more, not one less, exactly four..." he muttered.

The dust was too thick to see clearly right now. But he guessed that the four divine statues were probably two male and two female.

Sure enough, the young Immortal Sect disciples at the front had already cried out, reciting the names of the remaining statues and saying, "Two male immortals, two female immortals."

Wu Xingxue glanced at the four people including Gao Er and finally understood why those commoners had been "Summoned."

The statues of young boys and girls in the tomb, each one corresponded to one of these thirty-three divine statues. One child statue supported one divine statue, offering immortal power to maintain the great formation's operation.

As long as the divine statues stood, the great formation would not rest, and Yun Hai under the Immortal-Deposing Terrace would not know a day of peace.

So, Yun Hai "Summoned" those commoners.

Innocent mortals were brutally murdered and sealed into the statues of young boys and girls, inevitably creating deep-seated resentful energy. That resentful energy was then supplied to these thirty-three divine statues through the Offering Seals...

When an Immortal is tainted by slaughter and evil resentment, how long can their immortal power last?

Moreover, these thirty-three were already deposed immortals. The immortal power on the statues was likely left behind by Hua Xin back then. Each suppression consumed some of it, and with the corrosion of evil resentment, collapse was only a matter of time.

Those cries of "My disciple, Yun Hai" from just now were probably the final act of suppression.

The reason four divine statues had not been completely destroyed was because Gao Er and the others had been visited in a dream, allowing them to emerge from the child statues, thus reducing the amount of evil resentment being supplied to the divine statues.

Previously, when they heard Gao Er say "an Immortal visited us in a dream," everyone thought that Immortal was surely no good.

Thinking about it now, the one who sent the dream, who said their "worldly ties were not yet severed" and that this place was "lacking immortal qi," must have been a real Immortal, one who was trying his best to save this collapsing great formation.

Wu Xingxue thought for a moment and concluded that the Immortal who sent the dream must have been Immortal Leader Mingwu, Hua Xin.

Just as everyone was about to speak, the situation no longer allowed for questions—

The four remaining divine statues were not enough to support the great formation. After the statues were destroyed, the Immortal-Deposing Terrace suddenly exploded, shattering all over the ground.

A deep chasm abruptly opened in the ground. No one could see who was lying in the hole. They could only see evil qi as thick as ink, coiling and continuously spreading out.

It was like a writhing nest of serpents, extending countless heads, opening their massive maws and sharp fangs as they slowly stretched their bodies—

"Careful—"

Yi Wusheng shouted.

But it was a little too late. The few young disciples lacked cultivation. Enveloped by that surging evil qi, they actually walked out of the protective sword mirage like walking corpses.

The next moment, the python-like evil qi struck abruptly!

"Ahhh!"

With a few terrified screams, those young disciples were entangled in the black evil qi.

They drew their swords in a panic. Dozens of pearly-white flying swords shot out from the black qi, but they hit nothing and were completely ineffective.

Perhaps the person lying in the deep chasm was too hungry. The evil qi rolled up the three living people and was about to send them into the chasm.

At that critical moment, the longsword at Xiao Fuxuan's waist shot out. The hilt spun between his fingers, and the golden light from the blade traced a huge sword flourish in the air.

His five fingers covered the silver hilt, and with a cold press—

The Sword Intent came like a roaring tsunami. The cold blade expanded wildly to a length of several dozen zhang, and slashed down fiercely with the force of a thousand jun.

That one strike had the power to part the sea.

The sky-blotting evil qi was cleaved in two. It loosened abruptly, and the young disciples fell to the ground.

They scrambled to grab their swords, only to hear a cold "Go." Then they felt a golden light sweep over, sweeping them, along with their swords, back into the protective sword mirage.

They whipped their heads around, only to see the soaring evil qi surge and gather again, nearly filling the entire tomb. And High Immortal Tianxiu, coldly gripping his sword, was submerged in the boundless blackness.

"!!!" Everyone's face turned pale, and they cried out in alarm instinctively.

But in the next instant, countless rays of golden light, accompanied by the hum of a sword, stabbed straight out from the endless evil qi.

Like the scorching sun piercing through clouds and mist.

The Mian Character Sword stabbed straight up, pierced through the evil qi, then the tip turned and smashed down fiercely—

The moment it wedged into the ground, sparks flew, yet they were wrapped in a cold wind and snowy mist. Under the intertwining of extreme cold and extreme heat, all the evil qi was swept away.

Wu Xingxue saw Xiao Fuxuan, hand on the sword hilt, half-kneeling before the deep chasm.

He passed through the protective sword mirage, ignoring the other young disciples' attempts to stop him, and walked over.

The black evil qi dispersed, revealing the person lying in the deep chasm.

It really was Yun Hai.

He looked very much like that divine statue. It was clear that the person who had placed the statue in the tomb was extremely familiar with his appearance.

The divine statue was made of stone, a grayish-white. But he was even more desolate than that grayish-white. If he had more vitality and a bit of color in his face, he would be an extremely handsome man.

But at this moment, his long hair was loose, his body was bound with tangled vines, and his robes were as dark as the scattering evil qi, showing no sign that he had once lived in the Immortal Capital.

The vines crept all the way up to his neck. One branch extended out, adorned with a large but long-withered flower at its tip. The flower happened to block half of his face.

Wu Xingxue reached out to move the flower aside, but his hand was seized by Xiao Fuxuan.

But the wind stirred by the movement still made the flower tremble a few times...

As it swayed, the half of Yun Hai's face that was covered was faintly revealed.

Wu Xingxue furrowed his brow.

If the other half of his face was handsome and elegant, truly possessing an immortal's grace, then this half was somewhat horrifying—covered in scars, resembling a ghostly specter.

It was unknown why he had ended up in such a state.

It was even more unknown what it was like when Hua Xin had come to Great Sorrow Valley, sword on his back, and seen his disciple like this.

Xiao Fuxuan's sword suddenly moved, pulling out from the stone only to thrust straight back in.

Under the tremor of the Sword Intent, everyone present heard a ringing sound, like a clear bell echoing through a deep valley. Just one sound made the young Immortal Sect disciples clutch their heads and crouch down.

"What is that sound?!" They were clearly very close, yet they couldn't hear each other's voices and had to practically shout.

It was only after Yi Wusheng tapped each of them on the forehead that it eased slightly.

He looked at Xiao Fuxuan's constantly trembling immortal sword and said, "That should be... questioning."

Legend had it that when High Immortal Tianxiu, Xiao Fuxuan, delivered punishment, he would question the spirits on behalf of Heaven, interrogating evil demons as to why they had come to this.

And so, amidst the ceaseless hum of the vibrating sword and the spreading black mist, everyone saw a scene from several hundred years ago.